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William Bronk: In Contempt of Worldliness

In Contempt of Worldliness

Granted it may be true as is said,
is as, ourselves, we make it, or granted if you want,
there’s no place else for us, but even so,
isn’t it right we feel contempt for those
too much at home here? How one comes
to despise all worldliness! World, world!
We cling like animal young to the flanks of the world
to show our belonging; but to be at ease here
in mastery, were to make too light of the world
as if it were less than it is: the unmasterable.
Strangely, the same thing makes too light
of us, as though it mattered this world, to us.

William Bronk

[This is for flowerville.]

4 Comments

  1. thank you.
    that’s a good one, the unmasterable and too light, the world, us… an imbalance…
    you know i all the time have meant to check out some bronk and i know only very little, what can you recommmend?

  2. There isn’t much easily available, as far as I know. The collection “Life Supports” contains most of his poetry, I believe, but a lot of his work was published in tiny chapbook editions which I have never seen.

  3. New Directions also put out a tiny collection. Check your library for the chapbooks. I know mine has six of them. Bronk is excellent.

  4. I believe Life Supports completely subsumes the New Directions collection; why ND didn’t just republish the whole thing I don’t know. He did, however, write poetry after both collections.

    Copan is particularly notable among the prose.

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